Yeah, it kind of is. If people were so at ease accepting change then we wouldn't be having this conversation. It's a new iPad, it's got a new name, it's got a new price, it can do more. It's that simple.
They've kept the old one around just like they always do. It's an upgrade over the previous version, just like it always is. The next one will be just the same no matter if thats an iPad Pro 2, or the all new iPad Awesome.
That there was a 12.9" version released first means nothing other than it may have been ready first. Or that they wanted to get the big screen variant out first to show it as their answer to competitors bigger screen devices without diluting that message. Or they wanted people to know that there are differences between the two Pro models other than screen size and that's easier to do by splitting the releases. Whatever their intention, it was always their plan, they didn't just decide to cram an iPad Pro into a smaller chassis in the space of 4 months.
So it's more expensive. All that means is, well, it's more expensive. It also capable of doing more. There's plenty of diversity in the iPad line, especially now, so there's plenty of choice when it comes to price.
There's also the (perhaps slim) possibility that the price is different because they are thinking of keeping three lines of iPad and at some point there may be an Air 3. It's unlikely, but then so was a 12.9" iPad not so long ago. What is certain is that this is the situation we have. You can choose to buy any one of 5 different iPads at the moment, it's not hard to choose between them, you can even comparer them all in a line on the Apple website to see which one fits your needs best. Seems pretty much straightforward to me.
